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Hunter heads back to NBC

Exits 20th TV for new-media programming, development

It's a double homecoming for Jamila Hunter.

After a two-year stint as a comedy development executive at 20th Century Fox TV, Hunter is returning to her unscripted roots and going back to NBC where she started her career as an assistant a decade ago and then served as a longform and alternative programming exec from 2000-03.

Hunter is expected to join NBC in a newly created position of senior vp programming and development, alternative and digital.

She will report to Craig Plestis, exec vp alternative programming, development and specials; and Vivi Zigler, president of NBC Universal digital entertainment.

NBC has been experimenting with dual responsibilities under programming chief Ben Silverman. Earlier this year, the network merged its development and current series operations under drama and comedy heads Katie O'Connell and Jeff Ingold.

Additionally, the networks have been looking more to integrate their on-air and online programming efforts.

On the digital side, Hunter will oversee development of Web series. In alternative, she will shepherd the development of unscripted projects.

This is Hunter's second stint in NBC's reality department. As director and vp alternative programs from 2001-03, she oversaw such NBC series and specials as "Last Comic Standing," "TV's Most Outrageous Game Show Moments" and "The Cosby Show: A Look Back."

In 2003, Hunter moved to NBC's sibling cable channel Bravo, where she served as vp development and production and was involved in the launch of such hits as "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Project Runway." She shepherded such series as "Project Greenlight," Kathy Griffin's Laugh Factory show "My Life on the D-List" and the improv comedy series "Significant Others."

Hunter made the switch from unscripted to scripted in 2005 when she left Bravo to become vp comedy development for 20th TV, where she worked with such producers as Darren Star, Steve Levitan and Ashton Kutcher.

Following her assistant gig in NBC's movies and miniseries department in the late 1990s, Hunter landed a job as a manager of development at Robert Greenwald Prods. before returning to NBC in 2000 as director and later manager of movies and miniseries.